This invention relates to an apparatus and method of using solar energy to control the flow of water in a water heater, and to cause the flow to stop when the solar energy is temporarily disrupted, by clouds, or other disruptions, thereby aiding in keeping the water source at a constant temperature.
It has been customary to use the sun as the heating element for a body of water. The water is pumped through a series lengths of thin walled tubing, the tubing being painted black, to absorb more of the solar rays into the water, and thereby increasing the efficiency of the solar heating system. The inventor has found these systems to be deficient in many cases, when the sun is blocked by clouds, causing the pumped water to be cooled in the heating element, rather than being heated by the solar rays, during the pumping cycle.
In several adaptations of these solar water heating systems, it is necessary that the water be maintained at a certain temperature, or, it disrupts the equipment it is supposed to heat.
Several approaches have been provided for heating the water, using solar energy. Shultz, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,944 teaches a complicated solar heating system, for controlling the operation of a fan, or, a pump. However, Schultz teaches a system which has a unique system to keep the system from turning off the pump, or the fan, when the solar rays are disrupted during shady periods, and therefore, would not be conducive to maintaining a constant temperature of the output of the water, or, the fan.
Another approach is taught by Crowe, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,441, wherein an outside lighting system is controlled by the solar rays reacting on a solar panel, or, PV panel. Here again, the teaching of Crowe is deficient in maintaining a constant lighting system, as the appearance of clouds during the daytime would turn on the lighting system. This inadvertent turning on .of the system is not acceptable in many applications.
Still another approach is taught in the art of Stone, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,565, wherein a container of special fluid is used to detect the solar rays, causing a water pump to be activated, thereby pumping water through a solar collector, and heating the water in a pool. The problem with this approach is the same as most of the teachings in the prior arts, in this field, in that the sensitivity of the system is not present to the degree that a constant temperature can be attained in the water.